It’s not fusion, but a conversation. Or perhaps an experimental conversation. But when Emmy Award winning American tap-dancer Jason Samuels Smith, breaks into a flurry of foot-taps followed by Pandit Chitresh Das’ frenzied Kathak, it doesn’t look like an easy conversation.
Das and Smith will perform together at ‘Indian Jazz Suites: Fastest Feet in Rhythm’ - a cultural initiative of the US Consulate General, Hyderabad, in association with the Department of Culture, Odisha - on February 8 at Rajarani temple in the city.
“It’s not going to be fusion, since we aren’t exactly trying to combine the styles. We are staying true to our styles,” said Jason while addressing mediapersons here on Wednesday.
He feels Kathak is challenging. “We concentrate on what it sounds like and not what it looks visually. My body thus follows my feet. But with Kathak it’s not just the feet. It’s the eyebrows, the shoulders, the neck, and to do all that while concentrating on your footwork is extremely challenging,” he said.
India Jazz Suites also include three contemporary Jazz musicians from New York - Theo Hill on piano, Andrew Atkinson on Jazz drums and Sasha Jacobsem on Bass - along with three Indian classical musicians - Biplab Bhattacharya on tabla, vocalist Debashsis Sarkar and Jayanta Banerjee on sitar. Speaking on the occasion, Secretary of the Tourism and Culture Department said people from other parts of the country will also witness this dance and music programme at the temple.